William H. Hannon Foundation Donates $1 Million for Scholarships to LMU Alumni

The William H. Hannon Foundation will fund a $1 million scholarship at Loyola Law School for the benefit of graduates of Loyola Marymount University (LMU). This donation is the largest scholarship gift in the Law School’s history designated for students from a single alma mater.

The new William H. Hannon Scholarship will be awarded to its first recipients in the 2014-2015 academic year. To qualify for the scholarship, students must be graduates of LMU, have strong academic standing and financial need. Alumni of the undergraduate program at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) have historically been well represented at Loyola, the law school of LMU. The Law School counts nearly 1,000 LMU alumni in its graduate ranks, and 56 LMU alumni are currently enrolled as law students.

“These scholarships are critical in helping students obtain a law school education that might otherwise be out of their reach,” said Victor Gold, Fritz B. Burns Dean of Loyola Law School. “The William H. Hannon Foundation is equipping a new generation of students with the skills and knowledge they will be able to use to contribute back to society.”

The William H. Hannon Foundation has longstanding ties to the Law School and LMU. It was founded by William H. Hannon (1913-1999), a 1937 alumnus of LMU, whose mother struck a Depression-era deal with university leadership to allow Hannon to attend free of charge, with a promise to repay his $800 tuition after he graduated. During his lifetime, Hannon, and now his foundation, have repaid his tuition many thousands of times over.

“This gift continues my uncle’s legacy of helping those LMU students who wish to attend law school achieve their goals of making a difference in the world, much as LMU helped my uncle reach his dream of attending college,” said Kathleen Aikenhead, William H. Hannon Foundation president and chair of the LMU Board of Trustees.

After graduating from LMU, Hannon went on to a successful career in real estate development, becoming vice president and director of Fritz B. Burns & Associates before founding his own firm, the Hannon Realty Corporation. The William H. Hannon Foundation has been a longtime contributor to LMU and the Law School, where the library’s Hannon Atrium is one of the most popular study areas on campus. In addition, the foundation has funded the William Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law Chair, now held by Professor Justin Hughes. Hannon also gave generously of his time to LMU, serving as regent and honorary trustee until his death in 1999.